Even Heroes Need Inspiration
by Quillian
Summary: My first ever Batman fanfic! A look into what Simon Trent may have been thinking after the episode Beware The Gray Ghost... [A FEW SPOILERS]


**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Batman, etc.; that all belongs to DC Comics. _Batman: The Animated Series_ belongs to DC Comics and Warner Bros.  
**SUMMARY:** This is a one-shot, and it takes place after the events of the episode "Beware the Gray Ghost" (I'd say right after the episode ends and Bruce Wayne leaves with his autographed copy of the "Gray Ghost" collection).  
**WARNING:** Spoilers to the aforementioned episode.  
**IMPORTANT NOTE:** This is my first-ever _Batman_ fanfic, for The Animated Series or otherwise, so please be gentle.

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"**_Even Heroes Need Inspiration,"_**

_By Quillian_

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_Dedicated to my friend and fellow college classmate Carl for lending me his _Batman: The Animated Series _DVDs, which had that episode on them._

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After Bruce Wayne left with his newly-autographed film collection of the old _Gray Ghost_ TV series, Simon Trent contemplated the words of his billionaire fan. 

"_You know, as a kid I used to watch you with my father. The _Gray Ghost _was my hero…"_

He could only remember one other person who had said nearly the same that to him: _Batman._

So… Bruce Wayne was Batman.

Trent didn't know quite how to feel about that… but somehow, he got the feeling that Wayne deliberately hinted towards that for Trent to find out.

Somehow, it all made sense to Trent. Wayne was a billionaire, and Batman would have need to afford his Batmobile, secret lair in that huge cave and everything else somehow.

Needless to say, it was one secret which Trent would keep.

All the same… Trent couldn't help but feel a bit of pride, knowing that he was a positive influence for a hero such as Batman himself.

The more Trent thought about it, the more he realized that the influence actually reciprocated between the both of them. It was Batman who encouraged Trent not to shun that time in the past when he was the Gray Ghost, as well as to help him find this real villain.

In the end, both heroes influenced – and helped – each other, helping to apprehend "The Mad Bomber."

_Sometimes,_ Simon Trent mused, _even heroes need inspiration._

In fact, with his sudden surge in popularity, people were no offering him all kinds of roles to play, even evil ones as well as good ones.

As he himself told his agent, he was an actor, and therefore able to play all kinds of roles.

Even if being the Gray Ghost was undoubtedly the highlight of his career as an actor, he still wanted to try other roles, and just have fun being an actor.

In his own personal experience, the kinds of people who thought that he literally _was_ the Gray Ghost were the kinds of fans who had a hard time differentiating reality from fantasy.

As a matter of fact, he was even interested in portraying an evil character in an upcoming film…

Saving those thoughts and others aside for later, Simon Trent went back to happily signing autographs for his long line of fans.

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A/N: So, what did you think of this one-shot? _(Personally, it looked much longer to me when I originally wrote it out longhand on paper.)_

Also, I just wanted to point out that even as I watched this on DVD, munching on popcorn and reliving some of my childhood memories by watching this episode of this classic series, I could practically relate to Bruce Wayne himself as he watched that episode of the Gray Ghost whilst munching on popcorn. What an interesting cycle, huh?

Note about the thing with actors being able to play all kinds of roles: Simon Trent's words in that episode just stuck with me ever since the first time I saw and watched that episode years ago as a little kid, and these words are indeed true. As a matter of fact, the thing in this fanfic about Trent looking forward to playing an evil role for a change was something of a joke. Mark Hamill, who, as well all know did Luke Skywalker in the classic _Star Wars_ trilogy, actually did the Joker in the DC Animated Universe. It's the kind of thing you'd never guess for yourself if you didn't know it was true, isn't it?

Well, that's it! Thanks for reading this! –_Quillian_


End file.
